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Island/Part one
Castle Romeo What did Hercules say?}} God, Carl! Stop?}} 200 miles, dear. Go back to sleep.|More indecipherable words follow. Then Carl turns his head and looks back and downward directly into camera. He speaks to camera, loudly and plainly now, but not in English.}} The Indian Treaty Room What!?}} The hell you will!}} April Fools' Day Three years ago my son Harold was killed fighting the communists in Korea, and for what? Now we've given Korea back, so my boy died for nothing. Don't be fooled by Eisenhower. He's no different than Truman. The Jews and communists control them all, and they are using the Negroes to weaken America.|A barely audible moan arises from the pews. Weyland presses ahead, now with his voice too loud, almost shouting.}} Prometheus at anchor Quiet, children!}} What is it?|From Alicia's perspective we see a young man on top of the rock cliff, waving his arms to get the attention of some men far away, and pointing to the distant sky. Two men, in the distance, on another beach, stop walking, turn, see the man who is shouting at them, look to the sky, and then run toward a dark, thick forest.}} It's an airplane!}} Don't — don't be afraid!|The airplane sound grows louder. Alicia fumbles in her straw weave bag to find something. She pulls out a medicine vial and clutches it in her fist. Suddenly there is a loud, crackling noise. Alicia starts, violently. Carl Benneton rushes past and grabs up the radio microphone.}} Sick?}} What?}} On the Roosevelt Desk Unbelievable.}} Oppenheimer did oppose the H-bomb. But that was in '49, and his opposition was more of a technical matter. It didn't seem feasible then. In '51, Teller and Ulam's design changed his mind. He has pretty much supported the project since then. But he's also advocating international arms control. He's just troubled by the moral issues. So, who isn't?}} Let's take it easy, Lew. Mr Studeman, you're obviously not afraid to speak your mind. I like that.}} you hang onto this guy! I've said this before. We have determined to weaponize fusion ahead of the Russians and to get and stay so far out ahead they'll be deterred from even trying to catch up. It's a risky course. If the strategy — your strategy, Lewis — doesn't work we'll be in a spiraling arms race from now 'til doomsday — literally — and the expense, my god!, you know how much money this is costing us? Okay, so we've decided it. Your job, Lew, is to finish the testing in the Pacific as fast as you possibly can. Let's get it over and done with. Then maybe we'll get some real benefit from atomic power and not be just be forever digging ourselves into a hole. This business about Oppenheimer is a distraction. We can't afford it. I know Robert Oppenheimer. He's a strange guy. He's unpredictable. That's why we took him off the project. But he's not a communist. And I believe he's a loyal American, and I do not believe he's deliberating leaking anything just to hurt us.}} Uh-huh. She knew my mother. Matter of life and death. Got it. Now, what's the mystery's end, Mr. Studeman?|Jonathan draws an envelope from his coat pocket and places it on the Roosevelt Desk.}} Did you know I'm a Quaker, myself?}} A cure can be a terrible affliction Good morning! I'm glad you could come so early. And, I must say, I'm sorry I could not see you at any other time. It's been a very busy week!|At last, Jones turns and approaches Kimiko. He removes his dark glasses and a for few long moments he stares at her. She blushes. He walks slowly around her in a circle, studying her, seeming to admire her beauty.}} How old are you, child?}} Eigh-teen?}} Help me get her up here, Peter.|Peter holds her arms from behind as Jones takes her legs and together they lift and lay Kimiko face-up on the mattress, her head on the pillow. Jones stands beside her, puts on his dark glasses, and takes her right hand in both of his. She closes her eyes.}} No!}} Hush, Kimiko. Please. This is a man of God. You saw him in the church. You saw how great he is. You must not offend. Believe, dear. It will be all right. Believe!}} They come mostly at night, Father.}} Kimiko, are you all right?}} Does your head ache?}} No! I have no headache! Damn you!}} One accident leads to another He didn't tell us because he didn't know. He's a RADAR operator, Robert. Why would he know about this?}} Roger, Prometheus. Standing by. Out.}} Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?}} The bomb is everything now. The bomb is the hostage, Cousin. I've made my decision. Tend to the sails. We're heading west.|As foreboding music continues and slowly grows louder, the scene dissolves to a view of Prometheus under sail at the break of dawn in the lagoon of Bikini Atoll, approaching Eninman Island. A light rain is falling. Carl, still in his poncho, is alone at the helm. Others are below deck and not seen. Carl is looking upward and to the left and right, expecting to find something, and seems puzzled that the skies are empty. He has made another decision. He tunes the VHF radio to Channel 16 and picks up the microphone.}} United States Navy. This is Prometheus. Over.}} Prometheus, state your location. Over.}} Prometheus! Prometheus! Prometheus! Say again! Say again! Say again!|From the radio come a jumble of shouts, whistles and the blare of a siren. At first Carl smiles to himself and shakes his head in amusement because the microphone is being held open at the other end. But then his face grows stern as he suddenly realizes that something about this is terribly wrong. He looks toward the island, where a tower stands. In that instant, there is a great flash of white light. Gasoline canisters on the rear deck explode, and Carl's skin and clothes erupt in flame, exposing his skeleton to view. A moment later comes a tremendous roar of wind and wave. Lifted and spun like a top, Prometheus snaps into pieces that are hurled and smashed along the surface of the lagoon until nothing remains but flaming fragments, glittering ashes and floating debris.}} Executive action Send him in. And send Strauss the moment he gets here.|Jonathan Studeman enters the office and the secretary closes the door behind him.}} Well, I talked to Joe. I told him the president was adamant that no matter what he suspects he must never impugn the loyalty or integrity of J. Robert Oppenheimer. I told him the hearing demanded by Oppenheimer would be held in secret, and that whatever came out would be strictly out-of-bounds. I told him if he ever dares to publicly call Oppenheimer a communist, the president will vigorously denounce him as a crackpot and defend Oppenheimer.}} You were an Assistant District Attorney in Los Angeles. Then a successful defense lawyer. Now you're a partner in Studeman, Weiss, and DeGreer, specializing in international law. Corporate accounts. All quite lucrative, I imagine. And you are only 30 years old!}} Just how long do you suppose it will take us to get to the bottom, Chuck? The demonstrators want to disrupt the testing. So, they float some rumors and we just go ahead and stop the program? For how long?}} Spill it.}} Mr. President, just before the shot — I mean, right before it — one of the RADAR operators on Kwajalein, well, he sort of went nuts. He started screaming that there was a vessel in the lagoon, in very close at Tare, that's Eninman Island, ground zero. It was impossible. We had some empty old warships towed in nearby as usual, you know, to test the effects, but they were on the other side. We had nothing in the lagoon for this one, and every floating thing out there had been accounted for, so the kid wasn't believed. Heck, he'd been one of those compiling reports from scout planes and patrol craft and now he was saying he and everybody had missed something? Anyway, it was too late, and when this kid was told the order to fire had been sent, well, he really lost it. He started screaming and waving charts at everyone, saying, look here, look again, there was a ship of some sort near Enyu Island the night before. We don't even use Enyu Island anymore. That's where the control bunker was for Castle Bravo. So nobody could explain it. Okay, he'd got everyone's attention. That was 2 hours ago. It took a while to get a scout plane into the shot area, and I was waiting for the call back on what they found.}} Do you agree, counselor?}} Well, I don't see how it's a criminal matter just yet. On the other hand, I also don't know how a vessel gets past the patrols without inside help. So if McCarthy's right that there's someone inside the AEC or the Defense Department lending a hand, well, that would be criminal, sure.}} Remain seated, young man. I'll tell you when you can go. Do you think this was Bigelow?}} Okay. Here's what we do. The military will investigate, but the White House will be in control.}}